Wake Forest Magazine June 2003 - Past Issues - Wake Forest ...

name?
What’s in a
My first experience with Ed Christman
(and indeed an early Wake Forest experience) was at my freshman orientation
in Wait Chapel in August 1980. Chaplain Christman stood at the lectern and spoke about all
of the last names of students who were entering Wake Forest that fall. He read aloud the names and
gave his thoughts about each, some surnames coming in groups, and some surnames coming in
singles. I was struck by the fact that he had sat down and really studied the list of entering freshmen.
It was a consolation to me to realize that although we might be “faceless” at this new University,
we were not nameless…there was someone who noticed that we were there. And I felt further that
the richness and diversity of the last names he read out reflected the diversity and openness of Wake
Forest. As he spoke, I could feel the love he had for each and every one of us, even though we had not
yet met. It is something that I have always remembered, something that says a lot about who
Ed Christman really is.
Lundi Ramsey Denfeld (’84)
South Riding, Virginia
I
was president of Intervarsity my senior year. I
had regular interactions with Ed Christman in the chaplain’s office and in
the suite where all the campus ministry representatives were housed. Christman was always incredibly
gracious to me. I was allowed to speak in chapel that year even though our theological points of view
were greatly divergent. I also remember him fighting for our group to hold certain events and reserve
certain rooms for our meetings. He said something like, “I may not agree with everything they stand
for, but I’ll fight for their right to meet here on this campus.” I am now a United Methodist Minister
in eastern North Carolina. I have always remembered Christman’s leadership style and gracious actions.
I believe that all would say that he is a “Christ man.”
Rev. Branson Sheets (’84)
Bailey, North Carolina
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